Where to eat... this March

There’s always a brand-new bar, a hot new chef, a splashy new dining spot, a pop-up to reserve, a sauce to taste, or, even at your usual place, an exciting new menu to try. Check Please, our monthly rundown of food news, is just the kind of edit for those who may not eat out every night but love to be in the know.

Across the country, new restaurants are popping up everywhere, from intimate 45-seaters in Hyderabad to full-scale beach clubs in Mumbai. A neighbourhood beer hall replaces an old favourite, and coffee shops want to educate as much as caffeinate. In Jaipur, a cocktail room is inspired by the Silk Route and its folklore, and in Bengaluru two beloved spots get new dishes. Goa’s popular ramen spot has had to add three dishes to its permanent menu because everyone told them to. There is also Thai home cooking in a courtyard under an ancient mango tree, Cantonese in a jewel-box room, and vegetarian buffets now offering wholesome plated dinners. And there are small celebratory feasts happening everywhere, like Fire Horse menus, Women’s Day specials, anniversary menus, and even a restaurant on a nationwide tour. Chefs are also spotlighting traditional dishes, whether it’s haleem cooked for hours, masa made by hand, or entire menus made with Ayurvedic principles.

In short, there are lots of reasons to go out and try something new. Here’s what’s fresh, limited, and worth making a reservation for.

OPENINGS

Lili, Hyderabad

Located in Jubilee Hills, Lili is a 45-seater, 1,000 sqft Cantonese kitchen and bar that’s intimate, cosy, and unhurried by design. Chef Tarun Bhatia’s menu aims to combine traditional technique with a modern, unfussy touch in dishes like candied pork belly bao, smoky ho fun noodles with soy-chilli crisp, and a deconstructed wanton salad that has both texture and acidity. At the bar, World Class India winner Gaurav Dhyani draws on Chinese folklore for cocktails that are food-friendly, like sesame-infused martinis, a miso-honey-and-saline concoction, and another with Sichuan heat. Designed by Goa’s Siddharth Kerkar, the room features his signature artistic flourishes in hand-beaten copper, ceramic, and deep reds. Tentative opening on March 10.

Windmills Craftworks, Hyderabad

After Bengaluru and Texas, Windmills Craftworks has launched in Hyderabad. The design-led, music-first brand is known for blending live music, craft beer, global cuisine, and architecture, drawing patrons from across cities to its book-lined interiors. Like its other outposts, the Hyderabad location will offer live gigs across jazz, blues, world music, Indian classical, and contemporary genres by homegrown and global artists. Windmills’ menu remains hearty and eclectic with dishes like chipotle maple wings, Kerala beef fry, parmesan chilli kulcha, muhammara and caponata toast, donne chicken biryani, and Malnad vegetable pulao, as well as salads and pastas, alongside five craft beers from their brewery and 10 signature cocktails.

Naad Coffee Roastery, Hyderabad

Naad, by the team behind Orlo and Kadamba, is set to open as a two-storey space anchored in single-origin coffees sourced from estates across India. The ground floor will function as a cafe, while the first floor houses a working roastery. The space will also include an on-site academy offering coffee education and certifications. Hyderabad friends say they have never seen anything quite like this in their city. We’ll have a more detailed report for you soon. 

Sweeney, Mumbai

Prolific restaurateur Dhaval Udeshi brings another restaurant to the city, his second with Malaika Arora. And like Scarlett House, Sweeney is designed to feel like a home. It has a 140-year-old mango tree in the courtyard, a dining table, a living room, and a sofa. The food here is also inspired by homestyle cooking—except that it’s Thai, with some European influences. The Siam side of the menu has coconut-rich, seafood-led dishes from the southern parts of the country, and herb-forward, slower preparations from the north. The European portion derives from Italian home cooking—pastas, grilled meats, and slow-simmered sauces—with some French technique (reductions and butter-led finishes) and occasional Mexican influences (corn-led dishes, earthy spices) woven in. Sweeney’s bar operates as a women-led training platform under beverage director Fay Barretto, with a tight cocktail list built around modern classics.

Public Beer Hall & Snack Bar, Mumbai

Versova’s busiest strip has had a new place replace an old, beloved one. Public Beer Hall & Snack Bar has replaced Jamjar Diner as a no-reservations, easy-going neighbourhood hangout inspired by classic Indian beer halls, gymkhanas, and Irani cafes. The space been created by the same team behind Bonobo and Jamjar (Anup Gandhi and Sahil and Nevil Timbadia), so it has their signature warmth and ability to bring people together organically. Already, in the first week of business, every seat was full and strangers were sharing tables. The focus at Public is on cold beer, straight spirits, and affordable, friendly drinking, offering something between high-end cocktail bars and old-school quarter bars. Chef Sohini Bhattacharya has put together a hyper-regional menu made for long drinking sessions, with sections for touchings, snacks, sigri/tawa, Tangra/mountain classics, a few of her favourites, and a handful of bigger meal options for post-drinking munchies. Shweta Kaushik of SKID has designed the 1,700 sqft, 100-seater, relaxed three-level space with exposed beams and stone, aluminium, and wood details.

Coffee Capital, Mumbai

Another week, another coffee shop? Not quite. Coffee Capital in Versova wants us to not just drink coffee but also get to know it. At this “flavour-first destination designed for discovery”, founder Tuhin Ghosh wants to change the way the city engages with coffee. To this end, on the menu of this 34-seater are single-origin Arabica beans from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Nagaland, plus a changing line-up of international micro lots for the adventurous. They sometimes come with names like Noble Nectar, with notes of guava, pineapple, and milk chocolate. There is even a whisky-barrel-aged coffee and a savoury, rich brown butter cappuccino. Of course, there is a matcha programme, the green powder sourced from Kagoshima. There is food to balance the caffeine: pastas from a live kitchen, Neapolitan-style pizzas, and paninos made with flour that’s travelled further than most of us. The whisky-barrel coffee also shows up in the tiramisu.

Bastian Beach Club, Mumbai

On the ground floor of Sun-n-Sand hotel, a little strip of Juhu Beach is trying to be more like Saint-Tropez, Ibiza, and Mykonos. Bastian Hospitality has launched Mumbai’s first full-scale beach club, called, of course, Bastian Beach Club. The team behind it aims to combine dining, wellness, leisure, and entertainment into an all-day experience, as a step away from Mumbai’s nightlife-heavy hospitality scene. The beachfront poolside club’s open layout offers sea-facing views and caters to families, brunch-goers, sunset seekers, and evening party crowds alike. Curated activities will be programmed throughout the day. Plates include a picante sushi and an avocado poke bowl. A dip in the pool costs extra.

Aahaara at Aum Life, Mumbai

Aum Life Urban Ashram in Worli has now opened its “in-house sattvic dining space” to the general public (and not just to clients of the ashram). Its menu at Aahaara is centred on Ayurvedic principles and curated by “wellness chef and Ayurvedic culinary therapist” Hina Chokshi in collaboration with nutritionist and naturopath Raksha Chhadva. The fully vegetarian, onion- and garlic-free menu features dishes like ragi pancakes, millet-based Thai curry, jowar-methi thepla, idiyappam with coconut stew, and gulkand sweet potato halwa—comfort food that’s also meant to heal and to be eaten mindfully in the ashram’s intimate, calming space.

Woodside Inn, Bengaluru

After 18 years of shaping Mumbai’s drinking and dining scene, Woodside Inn has brought its relaxed pub atmosphere to Indiranagar in Bengaluru. The new spot spans two bright floors and a balcony, with walls adorned in honour of Bengaluru’s legendary bars such as Nasa, Purple Haze, and Black Cadillac. In this city, Woodside features a charcoal-fired live grill from which punters can get dishes such as harissa chicken skewers and citrus paprika chicken. The bar offers 14 taps, pouring local favourites like Geist, Red Rhino, Mannheim, and Kingfisher, along with a range of lagers, stouts, and seasonal ales. Woodside’s signature freezer-door cocktails—martinis, negronis, and old-fashioneds—are served from behind frosted glass at minus five degrees. House specials include a coconut lemongrass margarita and a Tokyo Twist whisky highball. The food menu features Woodside’s well-loved comfort food, from fried chicken tenders and potato skins to pork belly bites, thin-crust pizzas, and signature burgers, as well as mains like mushroom risotto, steak frites, and grilled rawas. The brand’s popular Beer & Burger festival will also land here soon.

Dupion, Jaipur

Jaipur’s latest cocktail room is named after the eponymous crisp, luxurious, plain-weave silk known for its rustic slubs and shimmery lustre. Open from 6:30 pm to 12:30 am, Dupion is described as “a purpose-built cocktail room” with a beverage programme inspired by the Silk Route. Therefore, house infusions, fermentations, clarifications, teas, spices, botanicals, and dried fruits are employed to make a dozen drinks, such as Truffle Trouble (a negroni spin), Umami Cut (a savoury gimlet), and Midnight Glory (a spiced espresso martini). Plates include katafi dahi kebab, truffle forest bao, paneer khurchan, honey chilli lotus stem, and yellow chilli jhinga.

Top Banana, Delhi

A couple of days ago, Rajan Sethi and the team behind OMO, AMPM, and Ikk Punjab have launched a new bar in Delhi’s GK-II called Top Banana. Food Instagrammer Sameer Bawa, who visited in its early days, has strongly recommended pairing a martini with the fried chicken. More about this from us in a few days. 

Nadoo, Delhi

Chef Shri Bala, a chartered accountant, company secretary and Law graduate, pursued her passion for cooking and trained under her uncle PS Sankaran, grandson of Meenakshi Ammal (author of the essential Samaithu Paar). She has since dedicated herself to showcasing the depth and history of south Indian vegetarian cuisine, curating festivals like Dakshin Rivaayat at Trident BKC, Mumbai, and actively promoting regional south Indian food traditions, highlighting their evolution, ingredients, and logic well beyond the familiar idli-dosa-sambar narrative. Next week, she opens her first restaurant, Nadoo, in Delhi, focusing on vegetarian and non-vegetarian traditional Tamil cuisine. 

Rumour, Delhi

A New York-inspired, wine-loving speakeasy is about to land in Priya Market in Vasant Vihar. Rumour, designed by The Charcoal Project, opens its doors on March 12. The early buzz on Instagram hints at plush seats, soft lighting, and corners made for lingering conversations. Even the cocktails are in on the wine game: the Rumour Rouge gets a cinnamon mist, and the Winemaker’s Espresso brings together coffee and wine in one glass. The wine list is an exploration of bottles you won’t spot elsewhere in Delhi. Bar bites are unfussy, big on flavour, and made for sharing. We’ll have more to spill soon.

Pincode, Goa 

Chef Kunal Kapur has landed in Vagator with Pincode Bungalow, the first Indian outpost of his UAE-born restaurant. (Pincode has already made its mark in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and even caught the Michelin Guide’s attention.) The setting in Goa: a restored Portuguese bungalow buzzing with regional Indian flavours, cafe energy, and a bar that’s all about cocktails. The menu is a cross-country road trip across pincodes, with stops for dubki aloo and bedmi poori, Nizami handi, keema poi, Sindhi dal pakwan, nadru kofta, and Champaran meat. Some dishes are straight from the classics, others have the chef’s playful tweaks. Walk in, and you’ll find three spaces: Indiroom, where mornings start with Indian breakfast and speciality coffee; Baar-Bar, the cocktail hub, pouring drinks with local flavours like tamarind, paan, and kala khatta; and The Glasshouse, a sunlit dining room for the main event. The old bungalow’s arches and tiled floors are still here, joined now by the clatter of cutlery and the clink of glasses.

LIMITED MENUS, SPECIALS, OTHER FESTIVALS

Nāvu’s new location + dishes, Bengaluru

After six years in Domlur, Nāvu, which means “us” in Kannada, has moved to a new 50-seater space on MG Road in central Bengaluru. The restaurant was founded in 2019 by chef-owners Kanishka Sharma and Pallavi Menon. Its focus on fresh ingredients, seasonal cooking, and a personal, instinctive style has built a loyal following at the Domlur location and shaped everything from early pop-ups and supper clubs.

The new MG Road location is bigger, with high ceilings, an open kitchen, a corner bar, textured interiors, and outdoor seating. The menu still features old favourites, along with some new dishes like pissaladière with cured sardines, Nāvu bresaola, beetroot salad with house boursin, short rib stroganoff, and black sesame ice cream.

Hosatodaku Bojana at Malgudi Mylari Mane, Bengaluru

On March 21, the day after Ugadi, Malgudi Mylari Mane will celebrate Hosatodaku with a non-vegetarian feast in Bengaluru. This festival, whose name translates to ‘new hunt’, or ‘new meat’, has roots in Karnataka’s Gowda and Vokkaliga communities. Hosatodaku is a day that signals renewal and prosperity, marked by families gathering around a baadoota—a generous spread of meats and shared dishes that honour both tradition and appetite.

The menu for the day will be a mix of the restaurant’s classics and traditional family festive recipes. A cooling muskmelon panaka followed by appetisers like Bannur lamb broth infused with pepper, ginger, and lemon; crunchy jowar chips served with a coriander and chilli chutney; quail or hakki fry seasoned with salt, pepper and green chilli; prawn masala in roasted coconut, fennel, and cumin; and slow-roasted and fiery mutton hurthundu made using a recipe that dates back to Malnad region’s hunting culture. For mains, Mylari ghee roast dose is paired with boti gojju. There is a fiery, unforgettable, no-oil Malnad Koli fry from a tribal recipe. Ragi mudde are paired with Bannur lamb curry, mamsa pulao with gravy and raita, and rice with a tangy crab rasam. To close, a scoop of paan ice cream.

Sattvam’s first-ever à la carte menu, Bengaluru

Sattvam, Bengaluru’s well-loved vegetarian spot best known for its expansive buffet since 2013, recently launched an à la carte dinner menu for the first time. At its flagship in Sadashivnagar, diners can now enjoy plated dishes at a relaxed pace. The menu features Indian classics and pan-Asian options while staying true to Sattvam’s philosophy of wholesome vegetarian food. Highlights include smoked sweet corn essence soup, zucchini-wrapped ravioli, and crackling spinach uramaki. There are creative takes on Indian dishes like betel leaf tartare and bharule, a popular Aligarh street snack of spiced, batter-fried potatoes. For mains, there’s Dal Sattvam (finished with sandalwood smoke and saffron), mie goreng, and Golden Paneer Symphony with chargrilled malai paneer in a rich, velvety gravy. Desserts feature Basant, inspired by kunafa, and Daulat ki Kulfi, inspired by malaiyyo.

Comal’s new menu, Bengaluru

Comal on MG Road is celebrating its second anniversary with a new menu launching on March 17. While favourites like carne asada and jackfruit flauta remain, chef Varun Pereira has added around 40 new dishes inspired by Mexican flavours. The menu is divided into eight sections: including bright and fresh ceviches, tartares, small plates, tacos, big plates, and desserts. Corn and nixtamalised masa take centre stage. Highlights include tostada camote, bone marrow tartare, lamb barbacoa on warm masa, and pork ribs with house tortillas. There’s also a new cerveza cocktail list featuring playful drinks like pickle beer and a churro float.

Cajsa comes to ITC Maratha, Mumbai

Cajsa, ITC Hotels’ youngest restaurant, has been touring the country. After popping up in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata, it will arrive in Mumbai at ITC Maratha’s Club Prive on the 6 and 7 of March. This dinner will feature a nine-course tasting menu of Cajsa’s contemporary takes on global culinary traditions. Expect dishes like potted mushroom pate, Coorg Coffee Conundrum (with dulce pebbles and lime leaf ice cream), lobster with kasundi mustard, and Goat Gala (goat chops, goat cheese, apricot phyllo, goat reduction). The Mumbai edition is priced at ₹4,200 plus taxes for the nine-course menu and ₹6,200 plus taxes with beverage pairings.

Women’s Day at La Panthera, Mumbai

La Panthera in BKC is marking Women’s Day with a four-course modern European menu, available until March 8. Chef Manuel Olveira has put together a line-up that starts with tapas; think green bean salad with edamame hummus, beetroot carpaccio, steak tartare, and a Bloody Mary ceviche. The second course has scamorza arancini, butter-garlic crab croquettes, and charcoal-grilled chicken. For mains, there’s cacio e pepe, glazed root vegetables, roast chicken with truffle jus, and grilled sea bass. For dessert there’s the house profiterole and a signature tiramisu. All this for ₹2,500, all in.

Ramadan menu at Waarsa, Mumbai

The Ramadan menu, on until March 19 at Waarsa at NCPA, celebrates “Awadhi mehman-nawazi” and the spirit of shared dining. The meal begins traditionally with dates and sharbat, followed by sigdi-roasted kebabs such as Rampoori paneer tikka and mandi kebab. Slow-cooked classics, including mutton haleem and paya ki nihari, follow. For vegetarians, there is a kathal ki nihari! There is no Ramadan without biryani. This year, Warsa has specials like dudhiya subz biryani and khush raan mandi on the menu. Desserts include khajur makhane ki kheer, kulfi malpua and falooda. A limited series of intimate iftaars (10 to 12 guests) will also be hosted by reservation. Created by chef Mukhtar Qureshi, this special menu will be available alongside the regular à la carte menu for lunch and dinner, with pre-booked iftaar gatherings for small groups.

CinCin gets its own white wine, Mumbai 

There’s a new pour at CinCin, BKC’s breezy Italian haunt: Bianco, their third house wine and first local Riesling. Sourced from the vineyards of Igatpuri, this one is all about fresh florals, a hint of citrus, and a crisp, clean finish. It’s the kind of easy-going white that plays nicely with everything from pizza and pasta to the richer stuff. Bianco now sits alongside CinCin’s other house favourites, Rosso (red) and Blush (rosé).

Dastarkhawn-e-Haleem at BarQat, JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai

Until March 19, BarQat’s menu is all about Dastarkhawn-e-Haleem. For Ramadan here, slow-cooked, stick-to-your-ribs haleem is the star of the show. Bowls traverse location and tradition: Deccani gosht ka haleem, murgh nizami haleem, coastal Samundri Khazaana. For vegetarians, there is Hyderabadi kathal ka haleem and kamal jhad ka haleem. The rest of the cast includes Hyderabadi kacche gosht ki biryani and the Kashmiri gucchi jaitoon biryani. Because no iftar is complete without something sweet, there’s double ka meetha and seb-badam ka halwa.

Take the Reins menu at Foo, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune 

Foo has rang in the Year of the Fire Horse with its signature playful pan-Asian touch. On the menu: sushi rolls with names like Golden Prosperity (asparagus tempura, avocado, cream cheese, mustard zing sauce, finished with gold dust) and Fat Choy Chicken (chicken, avocado, cream cheese, charcoal golden crunch, and chipotle sauce). Dim sum comes as Fortune Cottage Cheese Dumplings and Harmony Prawn Dumplings; small plates are Abundance Baby Potatoes, Fragrant Festival Chicken, Celebration Asian Seabass, and a bowl of Prosperity XO Rice. Dessert is the Red Fortune Cherry Delight, best enjoyed with a round of Chinese New Year cocktails made just for the season. A Royal Toast has tequila, Campari, papaya purée, vanilla and ginger cordial with yuzu juice; Crimson Fizz has dry beetroot-rested gin, Aperol, and Asian passionfruit lager cordial. On until March 10.

New menu at JSan, Goa 

At JSan in Anjuna, chef Vishesh Jawarani’s izakaya-style gastropub, three crowd-favourite specials have just graduated to the permanent menu. The tsukemen (dipping ramen) has thick, house-made noodles to be dunked into a rich pork-and-chicken broth, topped with pork chashu, jammy ajitama eggs, nori, and a flutter of bonito flakes. Then there is smoky, charred yakitori, and a simple miso soup with shiitake mushrooms and silken tofu. These dishes started out as limited-time items, but, thanks to popular demand, they’re here to stay.

Banng Bar brings bottomless brunch to Bandra, Mumbai 

There aren’t enough big Sunday brunches in the city anymore, but we’re happy to report that Bandra just got one. Banng Bar has started hosting a bottomless brunch party via Bangkok. At the live counters: tom kha pani puri, avocado som tum, Pattaya nachos, eggplant mala, and bacon-wrapped chicken. Mains feature krapow (veg or chicken), classic Thai curries, pad see ew with those caramelised noodles, and turmeric-bright fried rice. Dessert has Hong Kong waffles and coco pan. Drinks range from fresh and fizzy to rich and decadent. The spread is ₹2,500 plus taxes (or ₹3,600 plus taxes if you’re in the mood for bottomless pours).